The spectrum of Indian art undergoes a change with passing away of its doyens

The order is slowly but surely shifting in contemporary Indian art’s spectrum. The depleting number of senior artists after the demise of Jehangir Sabavala, M.F. Husain and Sohan Qadri this year - is prompting the slow ascent of a second generation of talented young contemporary artists, mentions an interesting IANS news report.

It mentions” Unlike Indian performing arts, where the top the talent chain dominates the viewers' imagination, visual arts over the years have thrown up a formidable line of young talented artists who have carved a niche for themselves with their unique style.

"Most of the surviving pioneers are too old and infirm to contribute prolifically to meet the demand for quality art both at home and outside the country," it quotes an art industry source, who explains: "Artists like Raza, Suhas Roy, Padamsee, Ram Kumar and Satish Gujral are in their late 70s and 80s.

The volume of their work has decreased with age. A group of talented younger artists - who are commanding respect among collectors and fetching record prices at auctions - is gradually grabbing the limelight with signatures (craft) of their own."

With affordability being the bottom-line in a market ruled by extreme swings in the last three years, works by the top 20 names in Indian contemporary art, especially those who are no longer alive, defy the purse-strings of an average collector. It quotes art historian-writer Ina Puri as saying, "History has to prove whether the second generation of talented artists like Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher and Sudarshan Shetty were worthy of filling the void created by the demise of the masters".

"A few months ago I was in London when M.F. Husain passed away and I had to write an obituary. Last week I paid my tribute to Jehangir Sabavala, who breathed his last in Mumbai. One after the other, the early pioneers of contemporary Indian art are falling to the vicissitudes of time and years," Ina Puri rued.